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Kimbo Slice: Another “Hype” Machine??

Internet sensation Kimbo Slice was once a bare knuckle boxer, fighting in backyards, parking lots and random gym’s for money, it didn’t matter where or who, he showed up, and showed up to win. Faster than you can say “Mama said knock you out”, Kimbo went from a fighting to survive, to fighting for pride, because is MMA, that’s what these guys are all about, they dedicate their lives to the sport and they discipline themselves to succeed, they fight for pride, but was Kimbo ready for this?

Kimb with no real background in boxing or MMA, fell into the life, with a huge promotional company and TV network behind him, it looked as though Kimbo would be huge, and he was. Instantly headlining events and rubbing elbows with the best in the business, Kimbo reminded me of a young Mike Tyson (only bigger), he’s tall, tough, rugged, sporting a gold “Grill”, bald head and grizzly beard,he is straight out scary looking. Like Mike, Kimbo is very entertaining to listen to and watch, very comical in his use of slang, and very explosive in the ring, he beats his opponents before they entered the ring by inflicting fear with is very intimidating demeanor.

With the MMA world behind him, Kimbo seemed destined for fame and fortune, but in the eyes of professionals and experts alike, Kimbo would without a doubt find out that it’s a totally different world fighting inside the octagon then fighting in a stranger’s back yard.

With only four fights in MMA, Kimbo was matched with MMA legend Ken Shamrock, a fight in which Kimbo was supposed to win and obtain recognizable name on his resume, but due to a gash suffered in last minute sparring, Shamrock was not cleared by the doctor to participate in the event. With a very distressed look on his face in a pre-fight meeting, Shamrock expressed his feelings on having to pull out of the fight, clearly upset, he stated that he thought Kimbo deserved a beating and he wanted to be the one to do it.

Well, in order to keep the seats filled in the arena, promoters searched for a last minute replacement, without looking very far, Seth Petruzelli who was supposed to fight in a light heavyweight bout, was chosen as the man who would face Kimbo in the main event. With only 12 hours notice, Petruzelli was ready for the challenge, not bothered at all by hype, Petruzelli rose to the occasion and new this was his opportunity to shine.

Standing face to face with Kimbo while receiving last minute instructions by the referee, Petruzelli looked calm and relaxed, Kimbo’s stare down didn’t faze him one bit, and it showed even when the bell rang to begin round one. Kimbo in a slightly crouched position moved in with his hands high, Petruzelli using a karate style leg block, Kimbo rushed in and was caught with a half-cocked right hand that landed on his cheek and down he went, Petruzelli instantly attacked, bombing away, Kimbo dazed and not protecting himself, rolled over on his back, Petruzelli continued to land to the face of Kimbo and the fight was stopped, just 14 seconds in, and it was all over for Kimbo.

Now, after being defeated by a last minute replacement in just 14 seconds, Where does this leave Kimbo Slice? Well, due to his marketing persona, I would say that he should very well bounce back, but I also think he will just become a fighter who everyone wants to fight, he will no longer be the man who many seem to fear. One must think that this loss was a fluke, that Kimbo just got caught cold, he wasn’t prepared for Petruzelli’s style, Well, sorry, but this was bound to happen, sooner than later.

Below is a link to a YouTube video of a bare knuckle fight between Kimbo and some random dude, watch closely, and just 42 seconds into the video, you’ll see Kimbo get hit with a short right hand that drops him, it was a flash knockdown, but still, he definitely felt that punch, so what did one expect to happen once he stepped into the ring with a man trained to punch, trained to fight and hurt you. Surely Kimbo would destroy every guy he met in the streets, but this was against stiffs, random guys without any sort of training, Kimbo lost a non sanctioned street fight to Sean Gannon, a former a former Boston Police officer who trains in MMA, it was a long hard fight, but in the end, Kimbo was flat on his back, exhausted, bloodied and beaten.

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This entry was posted on October 9, 2008 at 3:08 and is filed under Thoughts.
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